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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · band · chest · race · plane · ground · lie · dip

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. band — a music group
  3. chest — a box
  4. race — humankind
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — a position
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ground — crushed
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — to recline
  23. race — a contest
  24. dip — to sink

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com